Gatz requests billion-dollar savings proposals from Brussels administrations

The resigned minister sent two leaflets to the regional administrations this year. The first was related to the preparation of the revised budget for 2024. In it, the Liberals requested a saving proposal by specifying “underutilization.” Gatz estimated this at €240 million per year. Underutilization is the difference between resources allocated and spent annually, a balance that can be positive when projects become cheaper than budgeted or are delayed.

In the second circular, sent at the end of March, GATS asked each agency to propose a 10% reduction in its budget for the next fiscal year. The deadline for that was Monday.

Hundreds of millions of euros

The savings amount to a total of hundreds of millions of euros. Through this “simulation exercise”, he wants to help the next government prepare its 2025 budget, which must be submitted to the Brussels parliament in October. His government announced that by reducing administration and politics, the minister ultimately wants to save nearly a billion euros, spread over two years. Prominence Known.

According to the Gatz government, this measure is necessary to facilitate the policy of the next Brussels government. This measure also helps anticipate the budgetary discipline that will be imposed on Brussels by the European Commission, but also by rating agencies such as Standard & Poor’s to maintain access to financial markets.

Acteris

Various departments described the minister’s demands as unrealistic. At the employment agency Actiris, a ten percent saving, according to an internal calculation, would amount to a saving of 76 million euros and not opening new childcare places.